


Circuit: The New Era

by Hoseoks Left Ear (hoseokai0806)



Category: EXO (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: EXO - Freeform, Gen, Other, bts - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-03-31 21:44:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13983930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoseokai0806/pseuds/Hoseoks%20Left%20Ear
Summary: **NOTE: This fanfiction was partially created to stop/ decrease fan wars. As an EXO-L and an ARMY, I have seen a LOT of discourse between these two fandoms specifically and I would like it to stop. So please enjoy and all hate comments will be removed ASAP.Namjoon, a 23-year-old working towards his Ph.D., is in a dilemma. Today was the day he was finally going to get the approval for his degree. He was going to test the anesthetic that he had been working on for quite some time. It was all leading up to this moment. But, everything goes wrong when the power goes out in the middle of the experiment.





	1. Prologue

Have you ever sat down and wondered, “If my friends and I were superheroes, what would happen?”

Probably not, but for the sake of keeping this story going, let’s just say you have. This is the story of how a young genius made that happen. Not intentionally, of course, but it still happened.

Oh, and you can call me the narrator, by the way. If I feel like it, I might just tell you who I am. But, for now, let’s begin...


	2. The Big Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAA I FINALLY GOT MY AO3 ACCOUNT!! This is gonna be great guys just have some faith in me :)

  
  


Namjoon looked at himself in the mirror. He ran his hands through his hair, a nervous habit of his. This was it. This was the day. The day all his hard work would pay off. 

At age 15, Namjoon Kim had graduated high school. Since then, he had been preparing for this day. The day he would be able to earn his PhD. Now 23, Namjoon had created an anesthetic that could completely change the definition of anesthesiology. Today he would be testing that anesthetic in front of a council of scientists and the university’s professors. The rest of his life depended on this anesthetic. Literally.

5 months ago, Namjoon had cracked the solution to the perfect anesthetic. An anesthetic that could numb even the strongest of pain. Theoretically, it should have a faster reaction than other anesthetics. It took the form of a small pill which could be injected into the bloodstream. The truly special thing about this anesthetic was the fact that the anesthetic didn’t require a specific dosage to work. It adapted itself to the person’s body type, giving the person exactly the right dosage as efficiently as possible. But he wasn’t sure if he really had or not. He needed people to test on. No one in their right mind would’ve volunteered to test, or so he thought. He needed at least three successful tests. He got two people in the first week, which was two more than he thought would appear. 

The first was a man by the name of Jungkook Jeon. According to him, he loved to volunteer for stuff, so he decided to volunteer for this experiment. Namjoon had a suspicion Jungkook thought this was a social experiment, not a scientific one. That’s probably why he wrote ‘Why do you need to know all this?’ in the comments of the physical assessment form. 

The next one was Seokjin Kim, or just Jin. Namjoon had met Jin a few times. Namjoon was working on this anesthetic with his best friend, also a young genius at the age of 24, Hoseok Jung. Jin was Hoseok’s cousin, and they had met two or three times when Hoseok’s  _ extremely  _ rich parents threw one their monthly extravagant parties. Jin volunteered after Hoseok described his and Namjoon’s situation. Namjoon knew Jin would trust Hoseok with his life, so he was sure to double and triple check the formula for the drug. 

After that, Namjoon waited for a third volunteer, but none showed up. He decided to take matters into his own hands and volunteered himself. He couldn’t let this fail after all the work he had done. 

“You know you’re the one being  _ tested  _ on, not the one testing, right?” Yixing poked his head in through the bathroom door. Namjoon chuckled nervously. He wasn’t sure what to think of his older brother’s comment. Yixing gently pushed open the door and fixed Namjoon’s tie, which Namjoon couldn’t figure out how to tie. 

“Still doesn’t hurt to dress nice,” Namjoon said, to which Yixing responded with, “You would think the person saying that knew how to tie a tie.”

“Ties are overrated,” Namjoon muttered, running his hand through his hair once again. Yixing laughs and shakes his head, then motions for Namjoon to follow him. Namjoon looks at himself in the mirror again and adjusts his glasses, then follows Yixing into the living room, where he was FaceTiming their parents.

“Yixing!” Their mother beamed at her older son’s smiling face. Namjoon hurried over and said, “Don’t forget me!” Mrs. Kim laughed and shook her head. Mrs. Kim was a lean woman, her hair still black and soft. According to the photos at their house and the stories of Mr. Kim, Mrs. Kim was even more beautiful in her youth than she was now.

Mr. Kim appeared in the background, with a giant pan in his hands. Mr. Kim was a man of pure happiness. Namjoon had very rarely seen his father sad or angry. He had laugh lines that Mrs. Kim claimed to be the best thing about him. He motioned to his wife and joked, “This is an outrage! Look at what your mother is making me do daily! Wash the dishes! Cook the food! She even made me go outside once! So much exercise! My heart can’t take this!” 

Namjoon laughed with Yixing and his mother. 

“Good luck today, Joonie,” Mrs. Kim said with tears in her eyes. Namjoon smiled and said, “Thank you. Now that I have your blessing, I know that nothing will go wrong.”

After talking for a bit more, they ended the call. Namjoon looked at the clock, which read ‘10:27’. Namjoon jumped up, cursed loudly and grabbed his bag and shoes as he rushed out the door. The experiment was to be conducted at 10:35.

“Language!” Yixing called as Namjoon attempted to open the car. Namjoon rushed back the house and got the keys as he told Yixing that was an adult and that he could say what he wanted to. Yixing simply shook his head and muttered something about damn millennials. 

Namjoon backed out of the driveway and said bye to his brother and started on the road to Liberty University. 

 

Liberty City had gained fame in the past few years. Now it was a tourist attraction and Downtown Liberty was just crowded with shops and offices. The traffic was terrible. Namjoon was stuck for 15 minutes at one traffic light. By the time he reached the university’s lab it was already 10:45. He could see Hoseok joking about him to the professors. The thought of Hoseok embarrassing him  _ again  _ made him red. He entered the lab, and as soon as he did, the eyes of everyone in the room went straight to him. Namjoon ran a hand through his hair.

“Sorry. Traffic.”

One of the professors chuckled and said, “I was beginning to consider leaving, young man. Now please, present.”

Namjoon bowed his head went over to Hoseok, who looked furious. He whispered angrily, “Where were you?!”

“I’m sorry! The traffic was insane!” Namjoon whispered back as he took off his coat. He handed Hoseok the files for the presentation and went to sit on a chair next to the other volunteers. He saw Jungkook and Jin already sitting on the special padded chairs. They were the chairs found at the dentist’s, except with straps to hold them down in case they were afraid of needles. 

Hoseok cleared his throat, took a deep breath and looked the professors in the eye, as if to show them that he was very confident, even if it wasn’t true. In reality, Hoseok was terrified. He and Namjoon had been working on this anesthetic for almost two years now. With many, many, many failures, they had almost given up hope. He still remembered that night, crystal clear. 

Hoseok and Namjoon were at Hoseok’s place, after the 127th time they had failed to create an anesthetic that  _ didn’t  _ explode when it was poured into a syringe. It was cool the first three times, but after that it had gotten tiring and now it was just plain heartbreaking. Hoseok was lying on the sofa in the middle of Hoseok’s room, a bottle of vodka in his hand, half of it empty. Namjoon was on the floor, his head in his hands. They had been like that for almost two hours now, with the occasional sounds of swishing liquid as Hoseok took another sip of the intoxicating beverage in his hand. 

A tear rolled down his cheek. “Dad never believed in me. He still thinks I’m a failure,” Hoseok chuckled softly, his words slurring slightly, “I guess he was right. I’m going too fast anyways, it’s about time I stop. I mean, I still got a whole lot of money, right?”

Namjoon was dangerously quiet. He stayed silent, his head still in his hands as he thought about their results. What could  _ possibly  _ have been wrong this time? What?

“Right, Namjoon? I mean, Dad hates me,but I’m still his son, plus, my sister’s doing great in her fashion design class. I didn’t even know you could take that in high school,” Hoseok rambled on. (This was what he usually did when he was drunk,) “Her handwriting is really pretty too, she could be q calligraphy artist! Imagine, Da-Won Jung, fashionista by day, calligrapher by night.” Hoseok started laughing.

Namjoon suddenly got up, startling Hoseok; his laughs went silent. Namjoon had a look in his eye, a look that Hoseok had learned to fear. Hoseok put the bottle of vodka down and shakily got up.

“No, no, no. I know that look. That’s bad. For you and me. Look, maybe it’s time you go home…” Hoseok went to the door to call the butler, when Namjoon said, “I told Yixing I’m staying here for the night, and you know how mad he gets when I come home late.”

Hoseok shuddered and nodded. It was terrifying how much anger was nestled in Yixing. Hoseok picked up the bottle from the floor and started walking towards his bedroom, “You know where the things are, just make a bed on the sofa, you know the drill.”

Namjoon shook his head and said, “Nope. Tonight, it’s just you and me, bro-ham.”

Hoseok cringed and stopped, halfway through the doorway to his room, “Please never address me as ‘bro-ham’ ever again. Please.”

Namjoon chuckled and said, “You got it, buddy.” Hoseok rolled his eyes. Namjoon took out his notes from his bag and arranged them on the floor, studying them intently as Hoseok yawned.

“You know, I’m drunk, so it’s not the best idea to-”

“It’s fine, you don’t seem that drunk anyways.”

“Hey, you don’t know that, maybe I’m just a good actor.”

At this, Namjoon laughed, “Yeah, right.”

 

Hoseok cleared his throat and clicked a button on his laptop, which pulled up their presentation. In bold letters, the screen announced the anesthesia, and Hoseok began,

“Ladies and gentleman, for many years doctors have had to use different amounts, different types and different dosages of anesthesia on patients, wasting time on critical surgeries. There also have been cases where the anesthetic simply was not powerful enough, where the patient died from not being able to tolerate the pain. Sometimes the anesthetic was  _ too  _ powerful, leading the patient into a coma, or worse, death.

“But no longer, dear sirs and ma’ams, will those doctors and patients have to suffer because my partner, Namjoon Kim, and I, Hoseok Jung, have cracked the secret to the perfect anesthetic. We haven’t named it yet, but we’re working on it,” Hoseok smiled and picked out one small vial from his own briefcase. The vial contained a small pill, ⅛ of the size of a thumbnail.

“But here’s the truly special part. Doctors have no need to measure the medicine, they simply need to inject this pill into the patient’s bloodstream and the anesthetic reacts on it’s own, taking in the person’s body type and the activity of the pain receptors in the patient’s brain. The idea is that the patient feels absolutely no pain whatsoever, but they don’t go so numb that they slip into a coma. Oh, and don’t worry, it doesn’t mess with your head like laughing gas does. I still regret allowing my sister to take me to get my wisdom teeth removed. I don’t even know if she still has the videos on her phone or not.”

The professors were indeed very amused and greatly impressed, but this innovation was yet to be tested.

As the professors applauded the presentation, Hoseok strapped in the test subjects, loading a small device in the strap. A small hole hovered above the subject’s veins in the wrist, where a needle would inject the pill into the subject’s bloodstream. A small flap opened revealing a groove, where Hoseok placed the vial with the pill in it. 

When Hoseok came to Jungkook, he could see how nervous he was.

“Don’t worry, there’s a microscopic pill inside this one that goes into your veins, not this one.”

Jungkook chuckled and said, “Well, thanks, that’s really reassuring.”

The seats were controlled from another room. Hoseok led the professors to that room, enjoying the professors’ awe.

The room was fairly empty, except for a control panel at the from of the room and a chair behind the panel. The wall in front of the panel was a gigantic display screen. The screens displayed four different angles of the three test subjects.

Namjoon looked calm, waiting for the test to commence. Jungkook was smiling, though he looked nervous. Jin was looking at his reflection from the small metal part of the chair.

Hoseok presses a button on the panel and leaned into a microphone, “Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3, nod if you can hear me.”

All three subjects nodded.

“Good. We’re now going to begin the test. Make sure the strap is tightly fastened on your wrist’s veins. Nod when you’re ready.” They nodded, and Hoseok took a deep breath.

“Alright, then. The test will begin in 3…” 

Hoseok flipped some switches to ready the straps,

“2…”

The straps were ready,

“1…”

Hoseok pushes the button, and he saw the subjects twitch as the needle injected the pill. Hoseok smiled.  _ This could work _ .

His happiness was short lived, though. Suddenly, the lights went out. Hoseok’s smile disappeared.  _ What’s going on? _

Hoseok’s heart jumped into his throat as he heard screams from the lab. He took out his phone, turned on the phone’s flashlight, and ran to the lab.


	3. Panic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm only going to upload this much for now. I'll try to do weekly updates tho :)

Panic. That is what Jungkook felt. Panic. That is what Jin felt. Panic. That is what Namjoon felt.

It was pitch dark. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his wrist. He yelled out in surprise and pain. So did Jin and Jungkook. Namjoon had been electrocuted before, but the shock that the strap had just sent out was longer and much more painful than accidentally touching a small exposed wire.

Jungkook’s panting was heard, loud and clear.

“I’m sorry, I don’t feel so good. Where’s Mr. Jung? I want to get out of this,” Jungkook tried to pry the strap off, but it was painful.

“It’s okay, stay calm.” Namjoon said, yet he wasn’t sure if he was saying that to Jungkook or himself.

“Are we going to die?! I don’t want to die, I’m too young!” Jin said; they could hear him struggling with the strap. A faint light lit up the room. All three whipped their heads to the light. All three gasped when they saw blue light coming out of Jungkook’s hands. Jungkook’s eyes widened, his breathing getting faster by the second.

“What the hell is going on?” he asked, trembling. Hoseok abruptly burst in, his phone’s flashlight flickering around the room. His eyes met Jungkook’s hands and widened.

“Hoseok! Get us out of these!” Namjoon said, still feeling as if there was electricity in him. Hoseok rushed to them, and one by one, released each of them. Jungkook was last. As soon as his strap came off, the power came back, the lights turned on and the faint hum of the air conditioner restarted.

Jungkook sprang out of the chair and slowly backed away from the other three. He turned over his trembling hands, which now had electric sparks coming out of his fingertips, wrapping around his hands and up his arms. Tears were flowing from his eyes.

“What’s happening to me?” he said, his voice shaking. The professors burst in, all of them immediately focusing on Jungkook and his miraculous hands. Jin stepped forward, slowly, his hands raised as he said, “It’s okay, Jungkook, just stay calm.”

Jungkook flinched and stepped backwards, shaking his head, “No! Don’t get close!”

“Son, calm down.” 

A voice emerged from the crowd of shocked professors. Namjoon recognized the owner of the voice. It was his former professor, Dr. Minseok Kim. He was a very kind and gentle man, and he was always there for Namjoon when he needed him most. Dr. Kim, confident, slowly walked towards Jungkook, his voice soft, “It’s okay, we don’t want to hurt you. Take deep breaths, we’ll find a cure for you…”

As he was getting closer, Jungkook was shaking his head and telling Dr. Kim to get away. Dr. Kim held his hand out as he continued towards him. Jungkook frantically warned him, “No, please! You’ll get hurt!  _ Get away! _ ”

Jungkook turned his head and outstretched both his hands. A flash of light illuminated the room, causing everyone to cover their eyes. Once the light cleared, a series of gasps and screams filled the room. Namjoon opened his eyes to see the body of Dr. Kim on the floor, his clothes slightly burnt, smoking. His eyes were open, but they were empty. His mouth was open, but he had no words to say. Jungkook was in the corner, his eyes wide with fear as he brought a hand up to his mouth to muffle a sob.

“You murdered him! You murdered Minseok!” a voice called from a collection of professors.

“No, I… I didn’t mean t-”

“Didn’t mean to? Didn’t mean to? The  _ nerve  _ of this boy! Do you realize who this man was?” the infuriated professor said. Namjoon stepped forward, “Now is not the time. Someone call an ambulance, immediately!”

He knew he was giving false hope, but it was hope nonetheless. As Hoseok called 911, everyone crowded around Dr. Kim, some in tears. Namjoon crouched down, taking Dr. Kim’s limp wrist in his hand. His heart skipped a beat when he felt a pulse. It was extremely weak, but a pulse nonetheless.

“He’s gone!” Jin said. Namjoon shook his head and looked up, “No, he’s…”

He realized that Jin wasn’t talking about Dr. Kim, but Jungkook. He wasn’t there. Neither were the pills.

 

Namjoon felt a hand on his shoulder He saw Hoseok, his brow wrinkled in worry.

“Go,” he said. Namjoon nodded and started towards the door. Jin ran after him and said, “I’m coming with you.”

Namjoon shook his head. It was too dangerous.  _ Poor Jungkook,  _ he thought,  _ he must be so afraid. _

Jin kept walking with him. Namjoon raised an eyebrow and said, “I thought I told you no?”

Jin shrugged, “I don’t really care. Although, if my hair gets messed up, I’m charging you with my salon fees.”

“Look, if you think this is some kind of joke-”

“Not at all! But, how are you going to find him?”

“He can’t have gone far, he was here two minutes ago. He’s probably still in the building.”

Poor Namjoon. He had wasted so much valuable time. Little did he know of Jungkook’s true whereabouts.


	4. Assistance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is low key angsty whOOps

 

Jungkook ran, his pockets and hands filled with tiny vials. He ran down the road, the dark clouds above pouring down on him. The rain and tears blinded him. He could hear the blaring sounds of the ambulance. His heart beated faster.  _ It’s all my fault. He’s dead. _

The rain blinded him, making him trip and fall. He dropped the vials, which rolled onto the road, either crushed by cars or going into the gutter. Glad to be rid of the pills, Jungkook got up, brushed himself off and continued running.

He finally reached a small neighborhood. It had nice homes, they looked affordable for the upper middle class. He could finally see the numbers of the houses.  _ 205, 206, 207… _

  1. There it was. Jungkook sprinted towards the house and pounded on the door.



A shorter man opened the door. When he saw Jungkook, his eyes widened.

“Jimin, please…” Jungkook said faintly, it was the only thing he could say. Jimin grabbed Jungkook’s arm and pulled him in, slamming the door behind them.

Soon, Jungkook was on the sofa, with fresh, dry clothes and a blanket wrapped around him as he sat next to a lit fireplace. Jimin came with two mugs of hot chocolate and gave one of them to Jungkook.

“Thanks,” Jungkook said. Both sat in silence. Finally, Jimin said, “What happened?”

Jungkook choked on the drink, burning his tongue in the process and spilling it over himself and his new clothes. Jungkook sighed, put the cup down and held his head in his hands.

“I’m sorry…” Jungkook quietly said as a tear slid down his cheek. He had cried so much in the past hour he was amazed he wasn’t dehydrated yet. He didn’t like how emotional he was getting. 

“It’s fine,” Jimin said, patting his back gently, “Now, tell me what happened.”

Jungkook almost said everything. He almost went into full detail about Minseok and the experiment. But he waited.

“Before I do, promise me something.”

Jimin raised an eyebrow, surprised at this sudden request. Jimin put his own mug down, next to Jungkook’s mug.

“Sure,” Jimin said with a soft smile.

“Promise me you won’t tell anyone what I told you,” Jungkook said, “No one Jimin. I’m very serious.”

Jimin was confused and slightly worried. What could possibly be this serious?

“Okay…” Jimin hesitated. Jungkook took a deep breath and he should start with the worst part first.

“I… I killed someone…”

Jimin stood up. He quickly picked up the mugs, even though they weren’t empty, and took them to the kitchen. Jungkook went after him, panicking. He reached out to take the mugs from Jimin’s hands, but Jimin retracted quickly, causing a mug to drop to the floor.

“Get out,” Jimin said, slowly retreating, away from Jungkook. Jungkook felt tears forming in his eyes. Again. He blinked them back. He extended his arms, reaching out to Jimin.

“Jimin, please, you’re the only one I have…” Jimin’s eyes widened and he screamed.  _ Jungkook’s hands were glowing again. _

Jungkook lifted his hands up to get a good look at them. They were trembling. So was Jimin.

While Jungkook was examining his hands, Jimin was calling the police. Jungkook noticed, and he outstretched his hands once again, exclaiming, “No!”

A blue ball of energy burst out from his palm and missed Jimin’s head by less than an inch.

Jimin quickly called the police and told them his address quickly. Jungkook started towards him, but Jimin quickly retreated and yelled, “No! Get away! Don’t you dare come closer! You... _ you murderer. _ ”

Jungkook’s heart broke when he heard those words. Jimin’s face took on a cruel expression, an expression Jungkook had never seen before. 

“I never pegged you to be someone who would do something like this, but I’ll say this once: Get out and don’t come near me or...or my family or anyone that I know and love ever again.”

“I won’t hurt you, I swear, I just need your help,” Jungkook said.

“I wouldn’t help you no matter how hard you beg. I should’ve left you a long time ago. I already got enough money from you.”

Jungkook left the house before he did anything he would regret.  _ How could he?  _

Jimin was the only one Jungkook trusted. It hurt him so incredibly much to find out that Jimin had been using him this whole time. 

_ “I already got enough money from you.” _

Like a broken record, the phrase played over and over and over. A rage filled him. A murderous rage. He decided that if he ever saw Jimin again, he’d… What  _ would  _ he do? Certainly not forgive him. He heard police sirens and decided that he would set aside this topic for later. For now, he brushed off the tears on his face and thought of a place where he would hide.


	5. Consciousness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally forgot to post that's my own fault I was too busy watching Strong Woman Do Bong Soon and falling in love with Park Hyungsik whOOps.

Namjoon slowly opened his eyes.  _ What happened? _

“He’s awake!” 

“Is he stable?”

“I don’t think he’s going to kill us.”

Namjoon heard strange conversations as his eyes adjusted to the light. He didn’t have his glasses on, so he couldn’t see anyways.

The conversations died out as they noticed Namjoon regaining consciousness. He saw a blurry figure approach him, the voice of the figure familiar to him.

“Namjoon, stay calm,” Hoseok said, “Slowly lift your head and look at your hand and  _ stay calm _ .”

Namjoon did as he was told to. His breath got caught in his throat when he saw electric blue light coming from the direction of his hands. When he tried to lift his arms, he realized that he was strapped down. He started to struggle, his heart rate increasing with each ticking second.

“No, Namjoon, stay calm,” Hoseok said hurriedly. He leaned down a bit, close enough for Namjoon to hear him whisper, “They’ll take you away, Namjoon, please calm down.”

Namjoon could hear the worry in Hoseok’s voice. He stopped struggling and took slow breaths.

“We… don’t know how to permanently disable your powers, but this can temporarily put them at rest until we conduct more research.”

Hoseok held something up, but it was too far away for Namjoon to see clearly. He felt Hoseok wrap something around his wrists. The electric light slowly faded and died out. 

Namjoon was unstrapped and handed his glasses. He examined his wrists, where a small, thin strap was around his wrists. A tiny green dot blinked on it.

Hoseok motioned to the dot, “If it ever turns red, tell me. Also, never take it off unless I tell you to.”

Namjoon nodded. He looked around. He was in a blank room, on a hospital bed, hooked up to a heart monitor. He saw a table near the door, where his phone and other accessories, probably of the other people, sat. 

Hoseok, Jin and some of the professors from the experiment were there. He also recognized an additional few faces, like Wendy, who was a technology major. 

Wendy was probably the one who made the strap around Namjoon’s wrists. He mentally made a note to thank her later. Hoseok turned around to face the professors and said, “Thank you, professors, for coming. You all know where your stuff is, we will update you further if you want us to. Please, uh, email me with anything you want to know. We are so, so sorry for everything that has happened today. Please remember that 

you can’t tell anyone about this until we have it cleared up from the heads of the university.”

With that, the professors left the room, mumbling and commenting in not nice ways. Namjoon was relieved. The room was small, and the number of people that were in the room was extremely overwhelming. Now the only people left besides for him was Wendy, Hoseok and Jin.

“How do you feel?”

“Okay. What happened, how long was I out?” Namjoon remembered him going to find Jungkook and Jin tagging along. How did he end up here?

“You passed out in the hallway about three hours ago. My strong biceps, wide shoulders and handsome face had to carry you back.” Jin smirked. Wendy snickered.

“Actually,” Hoseok intercepted with an eye roll, “He came to us running and panicking. You should have seen him, it was amazing. Mr. Worldwide Handsome, losing his cool. I wish I took a video of it.” Hoseok started laughing. Due to the contagiousness of his laugh, Namjoon and Wendy started laughing too. Jin was turning red.

“Fine, you know what? I’m leaving, you can do whatever you want to without me and my charm!” Jin started to leave, but then Hoseok held onto his arm and pulled him back, apologizing in between his laughter. Jin stayed reluctantly.

“Okay, but jokes aside, we need to track down Jungkook. He was recently seen at Park Jimin’s place, where apparently he called 911. We’ve told the police to keep this case hidden from the public. They’ve released his photo, but the reason he’s wanted has been changed from ‘Superhuman gone Coo Coo for Coco Puffs’ to ‘Wanted for murder and assault charges.’” Hoseok explained.

Namjoon nodded. He didn’t want anyone knowing about this whole fiasco. But if something worse happened, then he might need to take action.

“Well, uh, we’ve decided we might need to conduct experiments on you to figure out how to stop Jungkook,” Hoseok finished.

Namjoon sighed and nodded. He couldn’t really complain, he got himself into this mess. Jin clapped his hands, looking excited, “This is like some sort of superhero story! Like, this is your origin story and later, Jungkook might start recruiting other supervillains and-”

Namjoon stopped listening. Other supervillains? There was a possibility that Jungkook might join a gang or start recruiting criminals. It wouldn’t be safe for anyone. Not his friends, his family… Namjoon’s eyes widened.

“Yixing!” He exclaimed, and jumped off the bed, unstrapping the heart monitor. He saw his phone on the table next to the door that would lead him out of the room. 

Hoseok called after him, but Namjoon grabbed the phone, oblivious, and dialed his brother.

“Hello?” Yixing answered.

“Yixing!” Namjoon wanted to tell Yixing everything, but he wasn’t sure of what Hoseok would say.

“Are you guys done with the experiment? How did it go?” Yixing sounded ecstatic. Namjoon’s heart broke at how disappointed he would be when he hear what actually happened. 

“Uh, yeah…” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hoseok motioning for him to end the call.

“Hey Yixing, I’m going to have to call you later, okay?”

“Oh, okay…” Yixing said, then Namjoon ended the call.


	6. Pursuit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow hiatus is really nice! Sorry, I didn't have my laptop for a long, long time so I couldn't post :/

_ Drip… Drip… Drip… _

The painfully slow dripping of the water droplets were antagonizing Jungkook. Everything terrified him here. It wasn’t his first choice in hiding places, no, but who would suspect him of hiding here?

Before hiding in the sewers, Jungkook had made a pit stop at his own house to pick up items he didn’t want the police to touch. He wasn’t sure whether or not the cops were already there, but he gambled.  _ Jackpot. _

Not a cop in sight.  _ Perfect. _

As quietly as possible, Jungkook unlocked his front door with the spare key under the flower pot. He snuck inside, feeling strange.  _ I’m sneaking around my own house. That’s a first. Hopefully it’s a last. _

He grabbed the largest backpack he could find and stuffed clothes, food, his phone, a portable charger and other items like matches and a first aid kit he found under his bed into it.

He went outside and said one last farewell to his home, when-

“Sir, put your hands in the air. You are surrounded.”

Jungkook cursed under his breath.  _ No cops in sight doesn’t mean no cops at all. _

“Sir, put your hands in the air,” the cop repeated. Jungkook slowly raised his hands. A dangerous thought creeped into his mind.  _ No. _

He pushed it away. But his hands started to tingle. A drop of sweat slid down his face. He heard cops panic as they saw the electric sparks emerging from Jungkook’s hands.

In one quick motion, Jungkook swiftly brought his hands down, pushing out the energy and feeling as it escaped his body. He heard the impact of the energy with the windows of the house and the cars and the bodies of the police falling. That’s when he ran.

His heart raced faster than his feet. His mind raced faster than his heart. Where could he hide? Where could he go?

Suddenly, his shoe got caught in a manhole covering and he got an idea. It wasn’t favorable, but it was all he had at the moment. As quick as he could, he pried the covering off, which was not light at all, and went inside, replacing the disc and climbing into the moist darkness.

The air was sticky and damp, and the odor was disgusting. Jungkook could hear creatures scurrying about. He was too tired and too upset to notice his terrible conditions. Finding the driest spot he could, he put his stuff down and found his phone. He made sure he had deleted every social media app, his location, his data and anything else that could be used to find where he was.

He turned on the flashlight and shone a light on his surroundings. Two rats scurried off, blinded by the sudden exposure.

Water dripped from rusty pipes that lined the ceiling of the sewer. He saw ladders going up to more manhole coverings in the distance.

Jungkook sighed. He hated this. He hated everything about this. He just wanted to go home. But he couldn’t.

_ Because of Jimin. _

Jimin’s words replayed yet again in his head, “I should’ve left you a long time ago. I already got enough money from you.”

It should’ve been Jimin. Not that professor. Guilt still stung at his heart. He didn’t do it on purpose and that professor was supposedly a very nice person. But then again, so was Jimin. Jungkook massaged his throbbing head and turned off the phone flashlight. He rummaged through his bag until he found a blanket and tried to go to sleep.


End file.
